LAST WEEK!
Hrmm. Will pick up Mara if the shop still has any copies. I thought Massive was disappointing to the point of dropping it but I also still trust Wood as a writer of material I enjoy. And hey, Ming Doyle getting work is good, right?

THIS WEEK!
BATMAN INCORPORATED #6
I agree with Joe in the respect that I’ve never felt I’d wasted money on a Morrison comic. If this is his last say on Batman I expect it will be a good one.

GLORY #31
Until this tells me otherwise I will buy it pretty much solely for the “Campbell brings the crazy” quotient.

GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR #4 (OF 5)
I think, for me, this is like the training wheels to eventually working up the guts to read Prison Pit. Any comic that makes me blurt out weird things in front of my wife like, “Get some!,” when Godzilla is smashing something is generally good enough to be interesting.

HELLBOY IN HELL #2
Issue one was a bit overwrought for me but maybe I’m just more used to the casual dynamic at play in BPRD. Very nice to look at, though.

INVINCIBLE #99
Kirkman has the comix equivalent of “F*ck You Money” so he (seemingly) never hesitates when it comes to big and crazy choices. It’s a lesson, really, for all of the people making art for commercial entertainment. The more you cling to things the less viable and flexible they become. To the buying public the next “reset” is always right around the corner. Whereas, with Kirkman, the big choices lead to new ground. Off this person, change this direction, whatever. It’s motion – ever onward.

PROPHET #32
Excited to see this continue for as long as Image feels it is viable. Graham had a very nice ’12 and I will be curious to see if (despite the sales) it opens up more and more inroads for him to a wider audience. While I assume he would just make a big fart noise if the book got cancelled I know I would not have found him if not for Prophet and Image’s King City reprint.

PUNK ROCK JESUS #6 (OF 6)
What kind of landing will Phillips put on this? I know it will be nice to look at – at minimum.

GREAT PACIFIC #3–This series really should have started with issue #2, but hopefully it’s now on track. Picking it up off the rack for the moment.

NEW AVENGERS #1 NOW–A non-Bendis Dr. Strange, so I will pick up at least the first issue. Indeed, Hickman writing all the smartest guys in the Marvel Universe sounds pretty intriguing. But, $3.99, and I assume this on the Oh My God Another One Already?! publishing schedule, so even if it’s high-quality it is unlikely to make it onto my sub list.

ALL STAR WESTERN #15 – wish this was more like Jonah’s last title, and less like a bat-book.

ARROW #2 – pricey for what it is, but I’m trying some strategic buying to let the Powers That Be know I really enjoy the TV show, so please keep it up.

GLORY #31 – four of these left. Dammit. I love the hell out of this book. In re-reading, I just noticed the awesome tease of (the then unseen) Nanaja on the TPB cover. It’s just the sort of thing these guys do.

GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR #4 – total insanity.

GREAT PACIFIC #3 – All of Nick’s points are spot-on, and I hope this starts developing soon. A real contrast to MASSIVE which deals with similar themes, but in a much richer way.

I VAMPIRE #15 – each issue has a clever surprise which keeps me coming back for Just One More Issue. Sorentino’s gorgeous art never hurts either. On the basis of that, I’ll be following him to Green Arrow too.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #15 – wtf Black Orchid?!

MANHATTAN PROJECTS #8 – nyet nyet soviet!

NEW AVENGERS #1 NOW – like Thelonious, I’m dipping my toe in this one. Not sure I have $8 a month in me for a “huh, that’s fun enough” idea, though.

PROPHET #32 – three of my “Image Big Four” ship this week; how can I not be happy?! That phrase would have been unimaginable to me in 2011.

RED LANTERNS #15 – this book should not work. Stock reheated characters, a weak ‘high concept’, and (previously) dischordant art, full of blood and T&A. And that’s why I didn’t read the first dozen or so. But since then, this has been way more fun than the main GL book.

STAR TREK ONGOING #16 – good set up of the nuTrek mirror universe.

SUPERMAN #15 – nice art is really helping this book find its feet. Even if the plot still has some fits and starts.

STUFF

JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #330 – or it’s the iso-cube for you.

And sorry J_Smitty: I love MASSIVE but MARA left me confused and unsatisfied in the three minutes it took to read it. But of course, your mileage may vary. I’d like to know what you thought its strengths were.

Happy New Year Everyone! Don’t be beside John K at the stroke of twelve!